Four Things You Can Do to Save #Energy:

Energy efficiency efforts tend to focus on things such as lighting and insulation. But, in fact, motors that run heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are the largest user of energy in buildings. At the same time, motor related efficiency requirements are relatively lax. There is no independent verification of motor efficiency, the equivalent of cutting out the Environmental Protection Agency and allowing car makers to say how many miles per gallon their vehicles get. Sadrul Ula, who is research faculty at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) , is trying to change that. He recently received a $385,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to evaluate the efficiency of HVAC motors in building through testing on-site and in a soon-to-be built facility at CE-...